We raised $15MM to grow our broad community of investors
The American stock market has consistently been the biggest driving force for prosperity in human history, with returns of about 10 percent annually on average.
That’s great news for some people but doesn’t mean much for the millions of people — including the 51% of U.S. millennials — who are stuck on the sidelines due to economic and psychological barriers to entry.
We believe a significant reason why many people do not invest is due to a lack of financial literacy, expensive financial products, and soaring share prices that can require people to invest $500 or more to purchase a single share of popular, high-performing stocks.
Public.com was created to address these very factors and unlock greater access by adding a social layer to the stock market and pioneering real-time fractional investing.
And today, we are excited to share that we’ve raised a $15MM Series B round on our mission to accelerate all people’s prosperity by making the stock markets accessible to everyone.
Accel and Greycroft return as lead investors after co-leading our Series A. Both firms were among the very first investors in Venmo, the social payment service founded in 2009 and acquired by PayPal/Braintree in 2013.
In this round, we welcome a select group of cultural leaders who join to support the company on its mission to make the public markets more accessible to everyone. These people and funds represent breakthrough talents in entertainment, media, and sport who are also known for their contributions to advancing society beyond their respective industries:
- Dreamers VC, founded by Will Smith and soccer star Keisuke Honda
- NFL star J.J. Watt
- Girlboss founder and CEO Sophia Amoruso
- Shari Redstone’s Advancit Capital
- Scott Belsky, founder of Behance and Adobe CPO
- Blavity Founder and CEO Morgan DeBaun
- Creator and entrepreneur Casey Neistat joins the advisory board
- Liontree Partners
- PLG Ventures
- Michael Vaughan, former COO Venmo joins the advisory board
Growing our community
According to a recent Harris Poll survey, half of all Americans — including 71% of millennials — say that society would be “healthier” if people felt more comfortable sharing their financial matters with others.
We believe that creating a transparent community where people feel empowered to share why they invest, and to have open conversations about why others invest, is one of the most effective ways to promote financial literacy.
This new funding will go toward growing our broad community of investors who bring a powerful blend of perspectives and domain expertise to the platform. Here are just a few of our members.
Michelle, Entrepreneur & Designer, New York
Kadell, Software Engineer, New York
Kaiya, Student, Santa Clara
Lauren, Student, Los Angeles
Josh, Healthcare Administration, Phoenix
More to come
Last month, we launched a revamped social feed designed to make it even easier to have meaningful conversations about the companies you believe in and follow.
Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on delivering a modern, intuitive, and inherently social product experience — with new and improved features that make investing more accessible and offer even more ways to stay engaged with the companies you invest and believe in.
If you’re not yet a member of our community, we invite you to join by downloading our free app for iOS and Android, or via Public.com. You can also follow us here or on Twitter (@publichello) for the latest news and updates.
Finally, want something? Say something. Give us your product feedback. Send us your questions, tell us what you like, and what you’d want to see improved. We’re all ears: hello@public.com.
Made it this far? Tweet a link to your Public portfolio, tag us and we’ll send you an “INVEST” hat. Don’t have an account? Sign up for free here.
Disclosures: Public.com/disclosures
